Jerusalem Post/DiasporaFrench Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that an investigation was underway and that a "military weapon" had been found in the vehicle.Follow us on GoogleFrench police officers stand guard in front of the Synagogue of Sarcelles, Paris's suburb, on October 11, 2023, after recent Hamas attacks in Israel.(photo credit: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)ByMATHILDA HELLERJULY 12, 2026 17:19Updated: JULY 12, 2026 17:42Around 300 people were evacuated on Saturday from a neighborhood in Sarcelles, north of Paris, after a suspicious vehicle containing a military-grade weapon was discovered in the vicinity of a synagogue.On Saturday evening, at around 9:30 p.m., the Anti-Crime Brigade (BAC) was called by the intelligence services to inspect the abandoned vehicle on Rue Henri Dunant in Sarcelles, BFMTV learned from a police source.Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told BFMTV on Sunday that it was "found not in the immediate vicinity, but in the vicinity" of the Great Synagogue of Sarcelles, as well as a cinema and several restaurants. "A number of measures have been taken," he said, adding that "the competent prosecutors are investigating."He confirmed that authorities found "a long firearm, a military-grade weapon."A police officer waits outside the courtroom at the courthouse in Paris, March 31, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq)No clear motive, no suspects yetA judicial investigation has been opened, but so far no motive has been established, and no individuals have been identified.Asked whether there was an imminent threat, Nuñez told BFMTV: "We simply don't know."The Jerusalem Post reached out to the Interior Ministry's General Directorate of Internal Security, PNAT, and the synagogue for comment.Follow us on Google